PV 1 




T'aliiietto Beach 



R 1/ D A P(aM« u-itA oiw 100,000 BIRMINGHAM 

rimxii will, 20,000 (1/80.000 Moiitgomery 

Placet with 10,000 (o 20,000 Bessomer 

piactt will, 2,000 to 10,000 Eufaula 

will, (i«» than 2,000 Corttlyou 

Cuunty Scaf unth kta tliun 2,000 .CHA 1 OM 

Slate dpitat @ Cuvnly Seats ® Other iilaccao 

OF MEXICO Railroad. 

Longitude Wcat Troui Or 



ALA 1 5 A.M A 81' VI 'LE]\tEXT 



By p. W. Hodges, Dothan, Alabama 



I. General Facts 

L Name the states whicli touch Alabama. 2. 

Measure by the scale of miles as shown on the map 

the length of each of these bound- 
Map studies o T' 11 II r ^1 

aries. o. lell which oi tliese 
places is farther north : Montgomery or Atlanta ; 
Mobile or Savannah ; ( ladsden or Rome, Ga. ; 
Tuscaloosa or Meridian, Miss. ; Birmingham or 
Richmond, Va. 4. Measure from north to south 
the longest line on the mai). 

Alabama lies in what is called the eastern 
section of the Southern States. It is sepa- 
Location and rated from the At- 
boundary lantic Ocean by 

Georgia on the east, while it 
touches the Gulf of Mexico on 
the south. The states which 
bound it are Tennessee on the 
north, Georgia on the east, 
Florida on tlie south, and Mis- 
sissipi)i on the west. 

Alabama is about the same in 
area as Louisiana, Arkansas, and 
Size and North Carolina, 

extent The area of each of 

these states is just about oO.OOO 
square miles. The area of Ala- 
bama is 51,998 square miles. 
It measures 836 miles from 
north to south and 200 mi'es 
from cast to west at the points of greatest 
distances. About 720 s([uare miles of tlic 
surface is water from Mobile Bay and other 
small arms of the (nilf of Mexico. 

The number of pe()])h' li\ing in the state is 

over 2,000,000 Most of these belong to the 

white race, though mam' 
Population ,. , ,, . ,' 

negroes ii\'e here Many ol the 

white people who live in Ahdiama were born 

here, and a great many have m(>ved hi-re 

from time to time from other states to make 

their homes. 



II. Drainage 

Alabama is well provided with rivers and 
streams to carry off the surplus water and 
keep the soil well drained. The rivers do 
more, however, than drain the state. They 
furnish drinking water for cities, water and 
power for mills, and a means of transi)ortation. 

The Tennessee is a large and important 
river of the state. It flows Tennessee 
from the northeast corner west- River 
ward across the state through a rich and 




liiji Sidii 



ia. (luw.s IS, 500 gallons a niiaute. 



beautiful \alley. Along its banks are found 
many attractixe and thri\iiig towns. 

The Alabama is formed by the junction of 
the Coosa and the Tallapoosa ri\"ers not far 
from Montgomery. It flows Alabama 
through the central part of the R'ver 
state in a southwestward directit)n and joins 
the Tombigbee forming the Mobile. 

Tlu' Black Warrior, the Sipsey, ami the 
Tombigbee furnish \\;iter power 
and a means of transportation 
for an important part of the western 

Copyright, 191S, by The Mucmilhin Company. 

©CLA504O45 



Other rivers 



n*9 I 



ALABAMA SUPPLEMENT 




Black Belt 



Lock and dam, Black Warrior River. Tu.-i alnusa. 



section of the state. The Coosa supplies 
drainage, transportation, and power for a 
large part of the east central portion. 

III. Surface 

The surface of the state possesses three well- 
recognized divisions, viz. : the Mountain Sec- 
tion, the Black Belt, and the level southern 
section called the Coastal Plain. 

The northern portion is broken by spurs 
of the Appalachian Mountains which, 
Mountain reaching in from the northeast 

section corner, cross the state toward 

Mississippi and extend south toward the 
center of the state. On these mountains 
and ridges are found valuable timber and 
under them lie rich deposits of minerals. 
Between the mountains are beautiful and 
fertile valleys that produce abundant crops 
of all kinds of grains and fruits. This sec- 
tion is also noted for its wonderful springs 
that flow in great numbers from the sides of 
the mountains. 

The southern part of the Mountain Sec- 
tion has been given the name Piedmont, 
meaning foot-of-the-mountain. I'nder the 
ridges and hills of this section lie immense 
coal beds and iron ore deposits. 






South of the 
Mountain Section lies 
a belt 
of deep 
fertile soil called the 
" Black Belt," on 
either side of which, 
north or south, are 
timber sections of 
pine and hardwood. 

Below the Black 
Belt is the Coastal 
Plain, a The coastal 
gently Plain 
rolling section on 
which, in the wooded 
areas, grow immense 



forests of long-leaf pine, and other valuable 
timber. Some of the largest timber mills 
in the world have been built in this timber 
belt. In the cleared areas there are fer- 
tile farms on which a variety of crops are 
raised. 

IV. Climate 

The climate in Alabama is mild. In the 
northern part some snow falls in the winter, 
though south of Montgomery 
there live many grown men and 
women who have never seen snow. Ice and 
frost are not uncommon even in the southern 
portions of the state, though the weather gets 
very warm in summer even in the northern 
part, except on the mountains. 

The rainfall for the whole state is ample to 
make good crops. It seldom happens' that 
there is too much or too little 
rain for a good harvest of all 
kinds of useful plants. 



Snow and ice 



Rainfall 



V. Animals and Birds 

Although much of the timber has been cut 
from the land, there still are found in many 
portions of the state a variety of wild animals. 



AUG -8I9IB 



ALA^A^fA SUPPLEMENT 



Wild animals 



Birds 



In the mountains and in tin- ^reat forests 
of the southern portions of the 
state may yet l)e found a few 
bear and deer. In all portions of the state 
there is an ahundanee of squirrels, foxes, 
raccoons, opossums, and rabbits. 

All parts of the state abound in game birds 
which are killed in large numbers for food. 
The commonest and most 
widely scattered is perhajjs 
the quail. The wild turkey is a bird that is 
also common to all parts of Alabama. At 
certain seasons of the year, large droves of 
wild geese and wild ducks may be found on 
the streams of the state. The state is rich in 
the number and variety of birds that bring 
pleasure and profit to man in other w'ays 
than by furnishing him food. Among the 
song birds which abound in the state, the 
mocking bird is by far the most common and 
the most appreciated. Other birds of this 
type are the bluebird, the blackbird, the field 
lark and the yellowhammer. 

VI. Industries 

Productive soil and favorable climate 

with abundant rainfall combine to make 

agriculture the chief occupation 

of the people of the state. For 

I Cotton fiber a great maiiv vears cotton has 
and seed '^ ■ . • 

been the main crop in all sec- 
tions. The usefulness of this plant is well 
known to every boy and girl. The fiber is em- 
ployed in making clothing for the people of 
every civilized country in the world. The 
seed is crushed to secure oil from which 
food for man is made. The hulls are used 
to make fertilizer and feed for cattle and 
hogs. 

Corn is an important crop that is raised in 
large quantities in all sections of the state. 
For many \'ears the people 
raised cotton, which they sold to 
buy corn for themselves and their Ii\c stock. 
A few years ago the boll \vee\il destroyid 



Agriculture 



2. Corn 



3. Peanuts 



much of the cotton crop, so that the farmers 
had to raise some other crop. Corn was the 
mo.st promising substitute. The crop was 
planted on all kinds of soil and a great harvest 
was gathered. Since that time it has not 
been necessary to bring corn into Alabama, 
and thousands of bushels lune been .sold in 
other states. 

Peanuts is a crop that has become very 
valuable within the last few years. The 
southeastern section of the state 
is best suited to the growing of 
this crop. This plant furnishes fertilizer for 
the soil on which it is grown and provides hay 
and nuts for cattle and hogs. Many farmers 
fatten their hogs with no other feed than the 
peanuts in the field. A larger part of the 
l)eanut crop is harvested and carried to mills 
where the peanuts are crushed to secure oil 
for food. 

The cultivation of the sweet potato, sugar 
cane, rice, wheat, and many kinds of vege- 
tables and fruits receives atten- 
tion in different portions of the 
state. The sweet potato is common to all 
sections for home use and it is grown in large 
quantities in central and southern Alabama 
for the markets. A fine quality of .syrup is 
made from the sugar cane, which grows only 
in the central and southern portions. In the 
northern cotmties, syrup is made frcmi the 
sorghum cane, which is cultivated for that 
purpose. The northern section of the state 
is adapted to the growing of wheat. Many 
farmers raise enough for home use, while 
some is sold. Uice is raised in small (pianti- 
ties on the lowlands, while berries and fruits 
of many kinds grow well all oxer the state. 
Castleberry in sonthern Alabama, and ('nil- 
man in northern .Mabama ship to the large 
cities (►f the North many carloads of straw- 
berries ever\' year. 

Anotlu-r important and valuable agricul- 
tural industrv is the raising of 
,. I 't /• •' 5 Live stock 

li\'e stock. in former tunes, 

even the farmers (»f the .state bought from 



4. Other crops 



ALABAMA SUPPLEMENT 



stores and markets most of the beef and pork 
which they used. The raising of corn and 
I)eanuts instead of cotton has made it pos- 
siljle for the farmers to grow cattle and hogs. 
They now raise all the live stock that may 
be needed to furnish meat for the people of 
the state and a great deal to send to other 
parts of the world. This industry is common 
to all parts of the state. 

Mining is an important industry in the 
central and northern sections of the state. 



into lumber, and iron into tools before these 
can be used in making homes Manufac- 
and comforts for men. Manu- turing 
facturing is growing as an industry in 
Alabama. 

VII. Cities 

The three largest cities in Alabama are 
Birmingham, Mobile, and Montgomery. 
Other important cities are Gadsden, Anniston, 
Bessemer, Albany, Decatur, Huntsville, 




An iron foundry lit Bessemer. 



Mining 



Coal and iron, the chief products of the 
mines, together with limestone 
quarried in the same neigh- 
borhood, furnish the material for the great 
steel industry that has grown up in this sec- 
tion, of which Birmingham is the center. 
Alabama ranks among the first states in the 
number of tons of both coal and iron that are 
mined every year. 

In some sections of the state are found 
minerals and metals, such as gold, mica, and 
graphite, which may be produced in paying 
((uantities. 

By manufacturing we mean the making of 
the "raw" material into things that can be 
used. Cotton must be made into cloth, logs 



Birmingham 



Florence, Tuscaloosa, Selma, Talladega, Troy, 
and Dothan. 

Birmingham is situated in north central 
Alabama in the rich coal, iron, and limestone 
region of the state. Abundance 
of these three essentials to the 
manufacture of iron and steel has led to the 
establishment in recent years in this region of 
a great number of large iron and steel mills 
and manufacturing ])lants. Birmingham is 
the center of this industry. With the increase 
in industry has come a rapid increase in popu- 
lation. The rapid growth of the city from a 
small village in ISSO to one of the most impor- 
tant cities oF the country in 1910 has caused 
the city to be named the "Magic City." 



ALABA.\fA SUI'PLEMEXr 



Mobile, on Mobile Bay, is 

the oldest city \\\ Alal>ania. 

It was founded 
Mobile , ,1 Ti I 

by the r rench 

in the year 1711. The 
streets are broad and beauti- 
ful. Many trees that are 
hundreds of years old shade 
its homes and its streets. 
The harbor is one of the 
best of the entire southern 
coast, and as a seaport it 
ranks among the most im- 
portant in the country. 

Montgomery has a beauti- 
ful location on a bluft of the 
Alabama River 
in central Ala- 
bama. It is an important 
city in Alabama for the 
reason that it is the capital 
of the state and an important 
commercial city, with much 
railroad and steamboat 
trade. A large camp for the 
training of United States 
soldiers and a field for the 
training of aviators have 
recentlv been established in 



Montgomery 




the \'icinitv. 



Just west of Moil 



Biniiiugliaiu. 
tgoinery 



Selma 




on the Alabama River is 
8el.ma, the county 
seat of 
Dallas 

(\)unty. It has a 
lar^e trade in cotton, 
which is sent hy river 
hoats to Moliile. 



Tuscaloosa 



Bird's-cyo view of Montgomery, the State Capitol in the ilistaiice. 



T I" sr .\ Lo OSA. 
on the 
Hhuk 
Warrior River, is an 
important commer- 
cial and manufac- 
turing place. Two 
im|)ortant institu- 
tions, the University 
of Alahama and the 
.Maliama Hospital 
t'nr the Insane, are 
located here. 



6 



ALABAMA SUPPLEMENT 



Anniston has a beautiful location among the hills 
of northeast Alabama, in a region that abounds in 
timber, minerals, and farm products. 
Anniston rj.^^ people engage in the manu- 

facture of different kinds of machinery, engines, 
boilers, pipes, lumber, and cotton goods. The 
Government of the United States has recently placed 
a camp here for the training of American soldiers. 

Gadsden is an attractive and prosperous city among 
the mountains of northeast Alabama. On the moun- 
tains near by is found a supply of 
many kinds of useful timber. Under 
the surface of the same mountains is found a vast 
supply of iron ore. Steel wire, nails, tile, pipe, 
brick, and leather goods are manufactured. 

HuNTSViLLE, the largest town in the Tennessee 
Valley, is the center of a rich agricultural section. The 



Gadsden 




Bridge and site of the nitrate plant near Florence. 



north central portion of the state. The mountain 

valleys surrounding it are rich in ^ ,, ■, 

agricultural products and timber. 

The mining of iron and the quarrying of marble are 

valuable industries for many of the people in the 

county and those near by. 

Albany and Decatur are important shipping 

and manufacturing cities located on the Tennessee 

River between Huntsville and 

Florence. Decatur is known in T^ „„+ , 

, Decatur 
history for being the eastern end 

of the first railroad that was built in Alabama. 

The road ran westward to Tuscumbia. Albany, 

formerly called New Decatur, has the immense 

shops of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad. 

These shops give employment to hundreds of men. 

Bessemer is in Jefferson County and is one of the 

most important of our 

cities. Its „ 

, ^ . Bessemer 

location 

among the coal and iron 

deposits makes it a leader 

in the manufacture of 

iron products. 

Troy • is in Pike 
Covmty about fifty miles 
southeast 
of Mont- ^"'y 
gomery. It is both an 
agricultural and a manu- 
facturing city. The raw 
material for the manu- 
facturing is obtained 
from cotton, peanuts, 
and lumber. 

DoTHAN, situated in 
the southeastern part of 



Huntsville 



manufacture of many kinds of cotton products is 

carried on here. The center of interest for many 

visitors to Huntsville is the Big Spring 

which supplies water for the people 

of the city. This city is one of the oldest in the state 

and was the capital for a short time in its early history. 

In the northeast corner of the state on the 

Tennessee River is the pretty little city of Florence. 

Its ])eople engage in the manufacture 

^.°'^^^^^.' . of woodenware, cotton goods, and iron 
Sheffield and , , j, \ \ . 

rr . • products. It has extensive coni- 

Tuscumbia ' i •, i i 

merce by railroad and steamboat. 

Sheffield and Tuscumbia are two thriving cities 
just across the river from Florence. A short time 
ago, the (lovernment of the United States agreed 
to build a nitrate plant near these places to cost 
$20,000,000. 

Taluydega is a beautiful old citv situated in the 



Dothan 



the state in a rich and prosperous 
farming section, has a large whole- 
sale and retail trade with several counties in that 
section of Alabama as well as with a number of 
counties and towns in Georgia and Florida. A 
system of graded roads brings much trade from the 
rural sections and three railroads furnish a means of 
trade with more distant places. 

VIII. History 

The first white man to place foot on Ala- 
bama soil was a Spaniard named De Soto. He 

came to Alabama with a partv 

<. 1 1/wA/. 1 ' Exploration 

or about lOOO men in the year 

1540. He was making a trip in an effort 

to find gold, about which he had heard on 



ALABAMA SUPPLEMENT 



a former visit to South America. On this 
jomniey De Soto and his companions crossed 
from the northeastern part of Ahihama 
through the central part of the state to where 
jMobile now stands. Here took place one 
of the bloodiest battles of Indian warfare. 

From Mobile De Soto turned northwest 
and continueti his joiu'ney across the state. 
He found the country inhabited by tribes of 
Indians. 

Years later the Indians were driven from 
Alabama by Andrew Jackson, who defeated 
them in many bloody 
battles. They gave up 
their claims to the land 
and were removed to 
territory farther west 
which had been given 
to them by the United 
States Government. 

For nearly 200 years 
after De Soto's visit, 
First the Indians 

settlement held con- 
trol of Alabama. In 
the year 1711, a French- 
man by the name of 
Bienville made a settle- 
ment at Mobile, which 
is the oldest town in the 
state. The territory 
was rapidly settled by 
white people. In the year 1817 Alabama 
was separated from Mississippi and in ISl'.l 
became a state of the United States. 

From this history it can be seen that Ala- 
bama, as a state, is about 100 years old. 
Alabama a Plans are being made to cele- 
state l)rate its 100th birthday by ex- 

ercises in all of the schools. 

Alabama has had five capitals in tlie order 
named: St. Stephens, Iluntsville, Uahaba. 
Tuscaloosa, and Montgomery. 

In the War between the States Alabama 
had an important j)art. Upon the election 
of Abraham Lincoln to the presidency of 



the United States, delegates in a meeting at 
Montgomery withdrew Alabama from the 
Union. Soon after that some Part in war 
representatives from six states between 
of the South met in Mont- ^^^^^^ 
gomery and organized the Confederate 
States of America. 

Jefferson Davis was inaugnrated the first 
president of the Confederate States of 
America, and ^Montgomery was made the 
capital a short while afterwards. Some 
imjKirtant battles were fought in Alabama, 




Tlio old State Capitol, Tuscaloosa. 

and onr state gave 120,()()() men to the "Lost 
Cause." 

IX. Government 

The government of Ahil)ama is a rei>ublic. 
B\' this we mean that the people elect the 
men who make the laws under which we 
live. 

The laws are inadf by a body of men 
called the Legislature of Alabama. This 

Legislatnre consi.sts of lOO men 

1 4. 1 T 1 f The Legisla- 

who com|)o.se the llou.se or ^ " 

Representatives and 35 men 

who are known as the Senate. These men 



ALABAMA SUPPLEMENT 



The Courts 



meet in Montgomery every four years and 

pass laws for the people of the state. 

The man who sees that the people obey 

the laws that have been made is called the 

Governor. He is elected once 
The Governor » u -i-u + 

every tour years by the votes 

of the people. He lives in Montgomery in 
a beautiful house called the Governor's 
Mansion. The office in which he attends 
to the business of enforcing the laws is in 
the State Capitol. 

When the state is obliged to decide a 
question of law for people, or when a man 
does something that is against 
the laws passed by the Legisla- 
ture, a trial is held before a court. The 
chief courts in Alabama are the supreme 
court with seven judges ; the appellate court 
with five judges; and a number of circuit 
courts each with one or more judges. There 
are also smaller courts, such as the justice 
court and the probate court before which 
persons charged with small offenses may be 
tried. 

Alabama has twelve members in the Con- 
gress of the United States. Ten of these 
are called Representatives and 
Congress of ^j.^ elected once every two 
States years by the voters of the dis- 

tricts in which the people live. 
Each of the ten districts of Alabama has from 
fi\'e to nine counties in it. The other two 
representatives from Alabama are called Sen- 
ators. These Senators are elected by the votes 
of the people of the entire state once e^'ery 
six years. The Congress of the United 
States meets every year to make laws for all 



of the people and the representatives from 
Alabama are there to assist in the passage 
of laws for the good of the people of the 
state and country. 



1. To what group of states does Alabama belong? 

2. Wliat is the area of Alabama? 3. About how 

many people live in the state? 4. 

What portion of Alabama is moun- 

« r XT .1 • . , questions 

tainous r 5. JN ame the important 

rivers of Alabama. 6. In what part of the state 
are minerals foimd? 7. What is meant by the 
"Black Belt"? 8. Describe the climate and rain- 
fall of Alabama. 9. Name some of the wild animals 
of the state. 10. What are some of the best known 
game birds? 11. Name uses of the cotton plant. 
12. Give three uses of peanuts. 13. What are 
the two most useful kinds of live stock raised in Ala- 
bama? 14. Name several kinds of plants that are 
cultivated for food in the state. 15. What are the 
two leading mineral products of Alabama? 16. 
Name and give uses for three other minerals found 
in Alabama. 17. What is meant by manufactur- 



ing? 18. Name and locate the three largest cities 
of Alabama. 19. At what two places in the state 
have camps for the training of soldiers been located ? 
20. State an importaut fact each about Tuscaloosa 
and Huntsville. 21. What important industry has 
recently been located near Florence ? 22. Wliy are 
Decatur and Tuscumbia important in the history of 
the state? 23. Locate and briefly describe each 
of the following: Gadsden; Talladega; Albany; 
Bessemer ; Troy ; Dothan ; Sehna. 24. Who 
was the first white man to come to Alabama? 25. 
Describe his march through the state. 26. In 
what year will Alabama be one himdred years old 
as a state? 27. Name the places that have been 
capitals of Alabama. 28. What part did Alabama 
take in the War between the States ? 29. By whom 
are the laws for the people of Alabama made? 30. 
Wliat are the duties of the Governor? 31. What 
can you do to help in the good government of the 
state ? 



Printed in the United Statea of America. 



r 



LIBRftRY OF CONGRE; 

mil mill 



014 541 571 e 



